Glass Slides and Tragic Deaths
Willard Lewis, typhoid fever, aged 44
John Gilbert, heart attack, aged 36
Marjorie White, auto accident, aged 31
Mabel Normand, tuberculosis, aged 34
Lilyan Tashman, cancer, aged 34
Lige Conley, struck by automobile, aged 40
Billie Ritchie, stomach cancer, aged 42.
http://www.silentcomedians.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=785&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0
thanks rudyfan
Jean Harlow, uremic poisoning, aged 26
Helen Twelvetrees, suicide/drug overdose, aged 49
Edith Roberts, septicemia contracted during childbirth, aged 35
Elaine Hammerstein, auto accident, aged 51
Smitty - Lt. Donald Haines, killed in action in WWII, aged 24
Charles Ray, impacted tooth infection, aged 52Labels: Billie Ritchie, Charles Ray, Donald Haines, Edith Roberts, Elaine Hamerstein, John Gilbert, Lige Conley, Mabel Normand, Marjorie White
posted by jtk at 9:10 PM
9 Comments:
I had no idea that Lilyan Tashman died so young, all of these are so sad! :(
Kind of sad, the people who died of infections and TB, were before the days of penicillin. Colin Clive also died of TB complications, but mostly he died of alchoholism.
Hi Panavia,
Yep, back then a small infection could turn lethal. I thought TB was a term sometimes used back then as a euphemism for alcohol or drug abuse, but I believe TB often does go hand in hand with drug abuse and/or alcoholism. Poor Colin Clive, he went downhill fast. In Mabel Normand's case there was drug abuse.
jtk
Hi Kate,
If I remember correctly, according to author Eve Golden's research, Lilyan was more likely closer to 40 when she died. But that's still quite a young age.
It's still astonishing to me that an ostrich attack is what ultimately caused Billie Ritchie's death. Evidently they can be quite vicious.
jtk
Contrary to popular belief, Billie Ritchie did not die from an ostrich attack. The Silent Comedians message board has the low down and one of the poster's is a relation of Ritchie, as well. It was stomach cancer.
http://www.silentcomedians.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=785&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0
Hi rudyfan,
Thank you for the correction and link.
jtk
No worries!
I see that the Harlow slide has the UK title for the Victor Fleming-directed BOMBSHELL -- are all the sides of British origin?
Hi Cladrite,
Thanks for that info. I didn't know BLONDE BOMBSHELL was the British release title. I just assumed that was the original title which was later discarded for plain old BOMBSHELL. I'm not sure of the origin of any of the slides. From what I recall, all were offered on ebay at one time or another. I now own only two of the slides.
JK
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